I agree with you Dennis, for basic tasks, it might still be a viable machine. But what I really meant to make clear is that 7-8 years is a good long run for any machine. Past 5 years and you're on borrowed time. If it's not something like popped caps, surely you can expect mechanical components like fans and HDDs to start failing.

There's a reason the warranties can only be extended to 3 years... if they were expected to run much past that, you'd better believe companies like Apple would be cashing in on longer warranty contracts.

Liquid and computers don't mix. It might seem simple, but we see an incredible amount of people post here about spills. Keep drinks and other liquids away from your expensive electronics!